Persona Profile: T'lonas

Writer: Duskdog

Name: T'lonas
Pronunciation: Tuh-LONE-as
Age: 43
Birthday: m4 d17
Rank: Weyrlingmaster
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Craft: Harper
Craft Rank: Senior Apprentice

Physical Description of Persona:
T’lonas is, as a whole, rather… unremarkable. A slender man of only 5’4” (perhaps the only thing about him that stands out), he doesn’t have bulging biceps or a chiseled jaw -- no, he’s certainly fit and athletic as a dragonrider must be, but he’s just not built for packing on obvious muscle, and his face is almost boyishly round, with plain brown eyes that don’t call to mind deep forests or sweetened klah or anything else that might describe a hero in one of the Printer Hall’s trashiest novels. His face is showing the lines that one might expect at his age, but there’s a bit of youthfulness to him even so. His short brown hair is usually side-parted, and just beginning to thin a bit, and he keeps a neat goatee.

Emotional Description of Persona:
T’lonas has an understated sort of self-confidence, the utterly solid sort that doesn’t give him the need to prove himself, or posture, or swagger -- the sort that says “this is who I am and this is enough”. If he’s effusive (and he is), it’s born from genuine enthusiasm, not a need for attention. If he’s gregarious (and he is), it’s born from the honest enjoyment of socialization, not a fear of being alone. If he’s eloquent (and he is), it’s born from a delight in expressing himself, not a need to establish himself as smarter than anyone else.

He /is/ smart, though. New concepts click for him quickly, and he’s fluid and adaptable, keenly observant, picking up on things both said and unsaid. He’s detail-oriented, and keeps meticulous files on each of his weyrlings, and meticulous journals of his own personal thoughts and experiences. He puts a lot of thought into the “why” of things. He loves to learn, and loves to impart that knowledge to others.

But it’s not just about teaching, it’s about being a /mentor/: someone who can lead by example, who can guide, instilling the same sense of purpose and dedication that he feels -- and, hopefully, the same enthusiasm. He doesn’t see any advantage to remaining inscrutable and overly-distant to those under his command -- he wants his intentions and expectations to be crystal clear, and thus his direction easy to follow. He’s an open book, and he sets the tone. If his normal loquacious good humor means it’s okay to relax and just listen and learn, his thunderous silence -- deafening for no other reason than because it contrasts so sharply with his typical manner -- means it’s time for serious business. It’s the same approach he used as a Wingleader at the beginning of the Pass, and it serves him well as Weyrlingmaster now.

History of Persona:
T’lonas was born at Far Island Weyr, son of a seamstress and an unknown father who could have feasibly been almost anyone. He had a fairly normal weyrbrat childhood, excelling at his harper classes and acceptably mediocre at most everything else. His intention was to apprentice as a Harper, actually, while Standing for the smaller, less frequent Interval clutches alongside his peers -- but he had barely put on his apprentice’s knots when he Impressed Domorth at his very first Hatching.

As the only bronzerider in his class, but also the youngest weyrling -- a scrawny nerd of a weyrling, at that -- T’lonas had ample reason to strive to excel, but also to observe the dynamics of his class, and learn how the other weyrlings responded to his implied authority and superiority. If you ask him now, he’ll say that his time in class, and the next six to eight turns of growing up before he and Domorth could be truly useful, was time spent “marinating” -- learning how to be a leader, and what sort of man he wanted to be. He had plenty of time to pursue his craft, to travel and run errands all over the South, and to help with subsequent weyrling classes, where he first got a taste of what his niche would someday become.

When the Pass began, T’lonas met it as a Wingleader at the head of his own fighting Wing. Over time, however, he became convinced that teaching the next generation of riders properly from the ground up, preparing them as thoroughly as possible in order to give them the best chance possible, was the more important job. There was no shortage of hotshot young bronzeriders eager to take up his wingleadership, but there were far fewer willing to take on the less glamorous job of “weyrling babysitter”. Eventually he stepped down in order to take a position as Weyrlingmaster Second, and then several turns later took a lateral transfer to the same position at Dragonsfall Weyr, hoping his chances for an eventual promotion to Weyrlingmaster might be better.

Family and Friends
Tannock, 17, Candidate (Son)

Dragon's Name: Domorth
Dragon's Age: 30
Dragon's Colour: Bronze
Description of Dragon:
Domorth is a tall bronze, sturdy but lean, with long limbs that aren’t exactly slender and graceful but somehow manage not to look too awkward, either. His muzzle is long, his head a bit blocky, and his hide is a darker, rusty-toned bronze.

Domorth is a bold and adventurous dragon with a good-natured demeanor. He’s curious, always alert for something interesting around him, no matter how small -- whether it be a line of trundlebugs in the Weyrbowl or a suspicious noise outside the barracks. He misses very little, and can flip that switch between playful wonder and protectiveness in an instant. Luckily he’s rarely had reason to do so.

Approved: April 23rd 2024
Last updated: April 14th 2024

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Persona Profile: T'lonas